Iran suffers new blow as Israel kills intel chief

Iran suffered a fresh blow Wednesday with the killing of its intelligence minister as the new supreme leader, yet to be seen since replacing his slain father, vowed to avenge the death of the country's security chief.

In Washington, the top US intelligence official said the government of the Islamic republic had been degraded but remained intact, three weeks into the conflict that began with US-Israeli attacks which killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israel's latest high-profile scalp was intelligence minister Esmail Khatib.

Iranian state television confirmed the killing of Khatib, who the US sanctioned in 2022 for alleged cyber-related activities against the US and its allies. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian calling Khatib’s killing “an unfair assassination.”

News of Khatib’s death came the day after Iranian security chief Ali Larijani was confirmed killed in an Israeli strike.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have authorised the IDF to eliminate any senior Iranian official for whom the intelligence and operational circle has been closed, without the need for additional approval,” Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz announced

“We will continue to thwart them and to hunt them all down.”

PARS GAS FIELD HIT: Iran’s huge Pars gas field was hit on Wednesday in the first reported strikes on Iran’s Gulf energy infrastructure of the US-Israeli war, prompting Tehran to announce it would respond with attacks on oil and gas targets throughout ‌the Gulf.

Oil prices shot up after the attack, a major escalation in a war that has already halted shipping from the world’s most important energy-producing region and could now bring lasting damage to ​its infrastructure. Benchmark Brent crude prices rose around 5% to above $108. Stock markets veered lower.

Pars is the Iranian sector of the world’s largest natural gas deposit, which Iran shares with Qatar ‌across the Gulf. Iran’s Fars news agency reported that gas tanks ‌and parts of a refinery had been hit, workers had been evacuated to a safe location and emergency crews were trying to put out a fire. State media later said the fire was under control.

In Tehran, thousands of people appeared in the streets for a funeral for Larijani and other slain figures. The crowd waved Iranian flags and carried portraits of the dead as a eulogist sang: “Martyrs are leading the way, they’ve become more alive, burning with love.”

Iran retaliated for the killing of Larijani by firing missiles at Israel, which Israeli authorities said ​killed two people near Tel Aviv. Tehran said it fired overnight on Tel Aviv, Haifa and Beersheba in Israel.

GERMANY’S STANCE: Chancellor Friedrich Merz told German lawmakers on Wednesday “we’re speaking at all levels with Washington” and “seeking trans-Atlantic agreement.”

He stressed that Germany shares many US aims “but we can’t and won’t shy away from telling our partners honestly where we see things differently and where we have different interests.”

Merz said he still has questions about the war in Iran and there is still “no convincing concept for how this operation could succeed.”

He noted that Washington “didn’t consult us and said European help wasn’t necessary ... we would have advised against pursuing this road the way it has been pursued at present.”

US SHIP WAIVER: US President ‌Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday announced a 60-day waiver of the Jones Act shipping law, temporarily allowing foreign-flagged vessels to ​move fuel, fertilizer and other goods between US ports to combat price increases and supply disruptions ‌from the Iran conflict.

White House spokeswoman Karoline ‌Leavitt said the waiver represents “another step to mitigate the short-term disruptions to the oil market as the U.S. military continues meeting the objectives of Operation Epic Fury.”

The waiver, a rare exception to the century-old law, underscores the administration’s urgent response to ‌a crisis that has sent gasoline prices sharply higher and disrupted critical fertilizer supplies for US farmers.

The American Maritime Partnership, a Washington-based advocacy group representing US ship operators, said it was “deeply concerned” that the 60-day broad waiver would be misused in a way that displaces US workers and companies, arguing the exemption is intended only for immediate threats to military operations.

Under the Jones Act, goods shipped between US ports must be carried on vessels that are US-built, US-flagged and mostly US-owned. Maritime industry unions support the requirement, which sharply limits the number of tankers available for domestic shipments.

Agencies